Page "Pierre Trudeau" Paragraph 23

During the October Crisis of 1970, the Front de libération du Québec ( FLQ ) kidnapped British Trade Consul James Cross at his residence on the fifth of October.

Five days later, Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte was also kidnapped ( and was later murdered, on October 17 ).

Trudeau responded by invoking the War Measures Act, which gave the government sweeping powers of arrest and detention without trial.

Although this response is still controversial and was opposed as excessive by parliamentarians like Tommy Douglas and David Lewis, it was met with only limited objections from the public.

Trudeau presented a determined public stance during the crisis, answering the question of how far he would go to stop the terrorists with " Just watch me ".

Five of the FLQ terrorists were flown to Cuba in 1970 as part of a deal in exchange for James Cross ' life, but all members were eventually arrested.

The five flown to Cuba were jailed after they returned to Canada years later.